Greece recorded a total of 6,677 cases of the coronavirus on Monday.
The record for the highest number of coronavirus cases recorded in one day in Greece was broken on November 9, when 8,623 cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed.
In the past day, a total of 96,315 coronavirus tests have been administered, including both PCR and rapid tests, bringing the positivity rate in Greece to 6.93%.
A total of 104 people with the virus passed away in the country on Monday alone.
Just 11 of Monday’s cases were identified during routine Covid-19 testing of tourists at the country’s borders.
Currently, there are 657 patients with the coronavirus on ventilators in Greece.
Omicron variant
The World Health Organization (WHO), unsettled by the presence of the new variant and its detection all over the world, announced on Monday that Omicron has shown that it spreads more easily and may lead to further surges in infection rates, saying that such spikes could lead to “severe consequences” in some places.
As of now, there have been no deaths linked to the Omicron mutation, but research must be undertaken to determine if the vaccines currently in use will work against it and if those who have antibodies to other strains will also have that natural protection against the new variant.
The WHO therefore urged all of its 194 member nations to accelerate vaccinations in their high-priority groups.
“Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic,” the WHO said in a statement, adding “The overall global risk …is assessed as very high.”
The Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that the Omicron variant demonstrates how “perilous and precarious” the situation was worldwide as vaccination rates in some countries remains low, either due to a lack of availability or resistance to the inoculation.
1,679 coronavirus cases in Attica, 1,135 in Thessaloniki
Of the 6,677 new coronavirus cases recorded in Greece in the past 24 hours, 1,679 were located in Attica, home to the Greek capital city of Athens.
A total of 469 cases of Covid-19 were identified in central Athens on Monday.
In Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, 1,135 cases of the virus were identified today.
Over 900,000 cases of the coronavirus recorded in Greece
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 931,183 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the country, including all those who have recovered from the virus.
Of the 657 patients intubated currently, 80.8% are over the age of 70 or suffer from preexisting conditions. Their average age is 64.
The majority of those who are on ventilators in Greece, or 80.06%, are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Additionally, a total of 3,504 patients have been discharged from ICUs around the country since the beginning of the pandemic.
The 104 new deaths recorded on Monday bring the total number of coronavirus-related fatalities in the country to 18,067.
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